Newark residents: Don't let Jersey City show us up in the Census

Newark and Jersey City have always been competitors when it comes to new development, prestigious corporate headquarters — or the number of public officials who are under indictment or should be.

What counts now is the Census, the every-10-years federal population tally. There are people in Jersey City who seem to think that if they work really hard, they just might find enough new residents and people missed by the last Census to eclipse Newark as the state’s number one city.

Could that really happen? I live in Newark and I don’t want to be eclipsed.

Newark’s latest estimated population is 278,980, which generally gets rounded off to 280,000. To beat that, Jersey City would have to add 37,866 to its total while Newark stands still.

I am, however, all for a hot competition because a lot more than bragging rights is at stake. The Census figures determine who gets what share of federal aid. At a time when cuts and crimping are likely, getting as much as possible is essential.

Fill out your forms, Newarkers, and send them in. The questionnaire has been shortened. It doesn’t take much time. Forget any imagined worries about the federal government using the Census to get into your business. Instead, worry about the reality of what happens if you get less than your fair share of federal aid.

On Thursday I visited Jersey City, and I will admit that if you get off at the Pavonia/Newport PATH stop and look around, it is hard to tell that you’re not in the big-dog city. There’s Newport Centre Mall, hotels, high-rise office buildings and apartments dominating the sky. The Jersey City mayor’s office told me that during the last Census, residents in those Newport district high-rises had a dismal record when it came to filling out the forms and mailing them back.

Many of those residents, I was told, are recent immigrants with financial or information technology careers in New York or Jersey City. They didn’t think the Census was about them. Jersey City is ramping up efforts to reach that group, and any others with less than optimum participation in the 2000 Census. The Census educators have been busy at public picnics, parades and other gatherings. People who got their H1N1 flu shots through Jersey City’s vaccination program also got a dose of make-sure-you’re-counted education.

Is Newark busy? Is Newark worried?

“Are we concerned about Jersey City? Yes, but mainly we are concerned about getting a fair share for our residents,” said assistant Newark business administrator Michael Greene. Mayor Cory Booker made a 30-minute Census show that has been airing on the city’s government access cable stations, and Booker has been communicating about the importance of the Census by tweeting on Twitter. (I try to imagine the old bosses — Hague, Kenny, Carlin — involved in anything that had a “twit” in it.)

Newark and Jersey City are also trying to get residents involved in Census-related jobs. The emphasis is on hiring people who can go into their own neighborhoods to do education and follow up, provide jobs that can generate some federal revenue for the city. Not bad.

Now, I know there are some people who bristle at the idea of Newark, Jersey City or any of our large cities actively engaged in efforts to get more federal money or aid of any kind. Some people think cities already get more than they should. The truth is that New Jersey is the most of urban of all states and as such cannot prosper unless Jersey cities prosper. Get what is fair, spend it well and wisely. That’s what cities must do.

Congressional representation is based on population. So is the allocation of federal money for all sorts of infrastructure projects. As I rode the PATH yesterday, looking at the condition of the roads, the rails and bridges we all depend upon, it seemed clear that if Newark and Jersey City are growing and can add a few more thousand people to the state’s total, it will not hurt New Jersey. It will help.